Butter-cutter.



R. F. STEWART.

BUTTER GUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.26,

Patented July 25, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R. F. STEWART.

BUTTER GUTTER.

APPLIGATION FILED Unze, 1910.

L 1 9 1.. :Us 2 w .J d Lw .m na P 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

BUTTER-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1911.*

Application filed April 26, 1910. Serial No. 557,826.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known 'that l, RICHARD F. STEWART, a citizen of the United States,residin at Briarclifi Manor, in the county of estchester and State ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Butter-Cutters,of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to butter cutting implements designed'todivide prints of butter into individual pats or pieces.

lt has for its object the production" of a tool or implement of smallinitial cost which is eilicient in service and easy of manipula.- tion,and in which the cutting element proper (a tensioned Wire) may bereadily renewed if broken, adjusted for various sizes of pats, andtensioned when slack. l accomplish these objects by providing a rigidcontinuous frame of suitable shape and dimensions (a rectangular poundprint cutter being shown) having proper handles for manipulating it,said frame supporting a cuttingwire or wires which are strung across itsinclosed space. One limb of said continuous frame is provided with anindependent adjustable wire-carrying and tightening bar to provide forthe proper tensioning of the wire after Stringing, wirereceiving kerfsbeing formed in the bar to receive the wire and hold the l crossingstrands in proper spaced relation. By pro viding a continuous frame lsecure an absolutely rigid construction,- and by the supplemental orindependent bar l am able to secure the tensioning of the wiresatisfactorily. j

ln order that the invention may be understood by those skilled in theart to which it belongs I have illustrated in the accompanying drawingsone embodiment of my invention, and that the best now known to me. ltwill be understood, however, that this disclosure is merely illustrativeand in no way restrictive of the invention, the physical expression ofwhich may obviously be varied within the range of mechanical eX-pedients without departing from the spirit thereof.

In said drawings-Figure 1 is a top plan view of the implement. Fig. 2 isa sectional view on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, a print of butter being shown inelevation below the cutter. Fig. 3 is a top plan View showing thewire-carrying and tensioning bar separated from the limb of the rigidframe. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detail views showing portions of thewire-carrying bar and the frame. Fig. 7 is a bottom View of an implementsimilar to that shown in Fig. 1 and having certain additional features.Fig. 8 is a sectional view of theimplement shown in Fig. 7, a print ofbutter being shown -in elevation.' Fig. 9 is a sectional view, on anenlarged scale, taken on line 9-9'of Fig. 7, to show the print halvingcutter.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, like numbers designating likeparts in the several views, 2 indicates a frame of rectangular form andof the dimensions to handle a pound print of butter. While the frame isshown as rectangular it will be understood that its shape may be varied,and it is apparent, also, that it may be made of any size.

At one end of the frame 2 is a handle or grip 3 which is preferably madeof such length and size as to give a full hand grip for the right hand,while at the other end is a smaller grip 4f designed as a thumb andfinger grip for the left hand, such details as these grips, however, maybe widely varied to meet the fancy or demand of users. On one side ofthe frame 2, which may be called the upper side and along one side limbthereof, is formed a rib, as 5, which projects upwardly therefrom and ispreferably integral therewith, this rib 5 turning the cor* ners of theframe and extending along the end limbs, though somewhat fiattened atthe juncture of the vframe and handles, as at 6, to give thumb holds inmanipulating the tool. The other side limb of the tool carries anindependent and adjustable bar 7,

formed with a long lug 8 on one side and two lugs 9, one at each end, onthe opposite side, so as to straddle the limb of the frame 2 on thatside, suitable adjusting screws 10 being provided at each end to permitthe position of the bar 7 to be varied. The said bar 7 has an upstandingrib 11 similar to the rib 5 on the opposite side limb of the frame 2,and each of the -ribs 5 and 11 is provided with opposed kerfs at regularintervals so that a series of closely adjacent lugs 12 are provided. Inline with the kerfs on the under side of the frame 2 the side limbs arenotched or kerfed, as at 13 (see Fig. 5). Across this frame a continuouscutting wire 14 is laid, one end of the wire Vthis anchor 15 the wire 14is carried back and forth transversely of the frame in as closelyadjacent strands as may be desired, the wire being looped about the lugs12 and -lying in the kerfs, as shown. The kerfs are preferably flared orrounded out slightly, as at 16, to prevent bending the wire 14 across asharp cutting angle at the kerf, and this may be-convenientlyaccomplished by drilling the kerf so as to give a Haring mouth in whichthe Wire will lie. Furthermore, by thus flaring the kerfs the loops ofwire 14 which engage lugs 12 are unlikely to slip off, but are, whentensioned, held securely in place. The wire 14 will preferably be laidacross the frame with the adjustable bar 7 in its innermost position,and the said wire after being drawn as tightly as is feasible by hand,has its other end anchored to a lug or screw 17 at ornear the corner ofthe frame. After this is done the wire is tensioned and brought to thedesired degree of tautness by adjusting the bar 7, through the medium ofscrews 10, away from the frame. It will be seen that in this manner asimultaneous adjustment of the wire strands is secured when the toolparts are assembled and set up, and that tightening of the wire if itstretches in use or when replaced is readily accomplished.

Preferably the tool is designed to work with a cutting board or plate18, which in the present instance is shown of the size of a one poundprint of butter, said plate 18 having transverse grooves on its uppersurface to receive the strands of the cutting wire 14 and insurecomplete separation of the pats'.

Though the use of the tool will, it is thought, be obvious from theforegoing description, it will be briefly set forth. A

print, either square, round, or other shape in cross section, havingbeen placed upon the grooved face of the cutting board or plate, thetool will be properly positioned so as to register the print to be cutwithin the wire-crossed frame-aperture and will then be forceddownwardly over the print,

lthe wire severing the print completely into pats.

In the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and above described, the tool isdesigned to separate a print into fourteen pats of a size equal to thecross-sectional area of the print.

In the development of the invention shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, I haveshown a type by which the print may be divided into smaller pieces. Thetool shown in these lastnamed figures is identical in mechanicalconstruction with that just described, but has additionally a centrallyplaced longitudinal wire 19 secured at one end to an anchor lug or screw20, and at its other end being 'threaded through a turning Vkey .or v;screwf21by which it maybe tightened. It

is clearfthat said wire 19 will-divide the pats cut by the` transversewires inl two parts. Another feature of this form of myinvention is themeans whereby a print of butter may be initially halved into two blockspriorto cutting the pats. This involves the addition of two legs 22 atopposite corners ofthe frame at one end thereof,

the said legs 22 being kerfed at their tips,

Adivision may be accurate and Vin order that the tool may not mutilateor mar the top of the print in this halving operation, I place aguide-plate 26 on the frame of the tool, as best shown in Fig. 8, thisplate being just the proper distance from the Wire 23 to give a divisionof a standard pound print into two equal parts, and obviously the smoothunder surface of the plate 26 will trail over the print without injuryto it.

With the tool just described is used a cutting board or plate 27 whichhas, in addition to the transverse grooves 28, a longitudinal groove 29to receive the wire 19. In

using this type of tool it is proposed to first slice the print with thehalving Wire 23 into two parts, and then separate the halved printtransversely and longitudinallyinto pats, the result, in the embodimentshown being forty pats from a pound print. While I refer to this initialseparating of the print, ashalving, it will be understood that I do notlimit the construction to this exact thing as the wire for doing thismay, of course be positioned so as to cut or slab the grint -Whereverdesired. Furthermore, such epartures from this disclosure as are in thenature of mechanical variations and expedients are, it will beunderstood, regarded as within the purview of the invention.

1. A butter cutter comprising a rigid frame having integral side and endlimbs and provided with operating handles, an integral kerfedwire-receiving rib on one side limb of said frame, an independent barhaving a kerfed wire-receiving rib adjustably mounted on the oppositeside limb of said frame, and a cutting wire laid transversely of saidframe from said kerfed side limb to said independent kerfed bar.

2. A butter cutter comprising a frame provided with operating handles,an upstanding stifening rib extending across the ends and along one sidelimb of said frame and having wire-receiving kerfs formed therein,

esmas an unribbed limb on the opposite side of said frame, anindependent bar having endlugs on one side and an intermediate elongatedlug on the other side adapted to straddle said unribbed side limb, akerfed wire-receiving rib on said independent bar, adjusting screws ateach end lof said independent bar, and a cutting wire laid transverselyof said frame from said kerfed side limb to said kerfed bar.

3. A butter cutter comprising a continuous rectangular rigid frame, akei-fed wirereceiving stiii'ening rib risingv vertically from one limbof sald frame, an independent bar provided with limb-straddling lugsslidably mounted on the opposite side limb of said frame, means Vforadjusting said bar to and from the side limb, a kerfed 'wire-receivingrib rising vertically from said bar, and a continuous cutting wire laidtransversely of said frame from said kerfed side limb to said kerfedbar.

4. A butter cutter comprising a frame, a wire-receiving rib on saidframe to receive the loops of. a cutting wire, said rib havinwirereceiving kerfs provided with flare mouths to eliminate wire-cuttingangles.

5. A butter cutter comprising a frame having wire-receiving lrerfsvhaving iiared mouths to eliminate wire-cuttin angles, and a cuttin wirelaidin said ker s.

6. 'A utter cutter comprising a frame, legs dependin therefrom, a`print-dividin wire tension across the lower end of sai legs, and a guideplate carried by said frame above said dividing wire.

7. A butter cutter comprising an apertured frame having a series ofpat-forming strands laid across said aperture, legs depending from saidframe near one end thereof, a print-dividing Wire tensioned across theends of said egs, and a guide plate on said frame above said dividingwire.

8. A butter cutter comprising an apertured frame, pat-forming wires laidacross said aperture, kerfed legs depending from said frame at one end,a print dividin wire tensioned across theends of said kerfe legs, and aguide plate secured to said frame above said dividing wire.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

RICHARD I". STEWAR'I.l

